Thorn: Sky Blues will survive

Andy Thorn, despite being disappointed by his side’s first-half display in their defeat at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon, was in upbeat mood after the game and buoyed by City’s performance after the break.

‘Once we changed it, we got plenty of ball in the box and in the end we deserved to come away with a draw,’ he said while also pointing out that the Sky Blues should have had a penalty for handball when chasing the game.

Safety still looks a long way away despite the impressive debut of loan signing Gary Gardner, who marked his bow with a goal, but Thorn vowed: ‘You saw a difference in our second-half display and one thing I will say is that we will play our way out of trouble, like we did in the second half.’

Home boss Gus Poyet admitted: ‘We are not outstanding and are not dominating games as we would like to be.’

Six points separate City from the teams above them and that gap could increase in midweek as the majority of Championship sides are in action.